Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 4/11: Louis Armstrong, “Go Down Moses”
This song seems appropriate considering that not only is it Passover, we’re also afflicted by a ruler deaf to the pleas of the people. Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1958 with Sy Oliver’s orchestra. Fats Waller recorded it 20 years earlier, accompanying himself on Hammond organ. Its first mention in history was in 1862, when […]
Song of the Day 4/10: Emma’s Revolution, “From a (Social) Distance”
Married couple Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow formed Emma’s Revolution, named for activist Emma Goldman, in 2001 as a folk music project in the old folkie tradition, meaning social activism through music. They released this song, a parody of the 1990 Bette Midler hit, earlier this week.
Song of the Day 4/9: John Prine and Marianne Faithfull, “This Love Is Real”
The roll call of the stricken continues. Marianne Faithfull has been hospitalized in London with covid-19 since late last week. She recorded this with John Prine for his 1995 LP, “Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings.” Old heads remember Faithfull as one of the young beauties who flitted around the Rolling Stones in the swingin’ London […]
Songs of the Day 4/8: John Prine, “Please Don’t Bury Me” and “When I Get to Heaven”
John Prine has been writing about his place in the afterlife throughout his career, starting with “Please Don’t Bury Me” from 1973’s “Sweet Revenge” LP. “That song was originally about this character I had in mind called Tom Brewster,” Prine said. “He dies but he wasn’t supposed to, like that scene in those old movies. […]
Song of the Day 4/7: Stevie Wonder, “Superstition”
We didn’t realize it when this song was released on “Talking Book” in 1972, but it was warning us about the coronavirus. Don’t believe me? Then explain these lyrics, which sound like a direct rebuke of Donald Trump’s magical thinking about covid-19 cures: Very superstitious, wash your face and hands Rid me of the problems, […]
Song of the Day 4/6: Uncle Tupelo, “We’ve Been Had”
From the last album before their breakup, back when Jeff Tweedy was still in touch with his punk roots. This was mostly a swipe at their old record company, which wanted the band to emulate Nirvana and refused to pay out royalties they were owed. But it does include this verse: Republicans and Democrats can’t […]
Song of the Day 4/5: Broadway Cast of “Assassins,” “Everybody’s Got the Right”
Offered without comment.
Song of the Day 4/3: Bill Withers, “Lean on Me”
Amid the COVID-19 catastrophe, deaths from other causes continue apace. Bill Withers, 81, died Monday in Los Angeles of heart failure, apparently unrelated to the coronavirus. Withers was a working stiff who rose to sudden stardom in 1971 when”Ain’t No Sunshine,” the B-side to his first single, stormed up the singles charts. His string of […]
Song of the Day 4/2: Adam Schlesinger and Mike Viola, “That Thing You Do”
To properly honor Adam Schlesinger, the most prolific pop tunesmith of his generation, would take a month or two of Songs of the Day. He wrote dozens for his best-known project, Fountains of Wayne, which he co-founded with college friend Chris Collingwood, but that was just one facet of his brilliance. He had another band, […]
Song of the Day 4/1: The Arrows, “I Love Rock and Roll”
If it weren’t for Joan Jett, Alan Merrill and the Arrows would be unknown in America instead of just obscure. But they were so big in Britain in the mid-’70s they hosted their own TV show, which is where this clip comes from. The song wasn’t a hit for them — it was only released […]
Song of the Day 3/31: Joe Diffie, “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)”
Joe Diffie, who died of the coronavirus Sunday at age 61, was a reliable Nashville hitmaker in the early ’90s, placing more than a dozen songs in the Top 10 of the country charts; five of them went to No. 1. This one featured a video that owes a lot to “Weekend at Bernie’s,” and […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: March 2020
How’zabout we stream some great tunes while keeping our physical distance? Sounds good to me. Betcha some of them sound good to you: Musta’ missed this one last year. Correcting that error… If we ever get back to doing concerts at the Gild Hall, this guy will be on my short list of artists I […]
Song of the Day 3/30: Kasey Musgraves, “Burn One With John Prine”
Kasey Musgraves says this was one of the first songs she wrote when she moved to Nashville to pursue her career in country music. It’s a crowd favorite in concert, but she’s never officially released it and the chances of her doing so decreased when she recycled the couplet about piercing her nose in another […]
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